


Marry Me

by madlaw



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Can't really think of anything that fits; just read it, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-11-18 12:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11290929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madlaw/pseuds/madlaw





	Marry Me

Root’s looking over table arrangements while Shaw plays jenga next to her.  “Can you believe it?  Like I could ever have a wedding like this?  Do those things even happen?”

Shaw rolls her eyes.  She’s spent the last couple of months helping Root plan her dream wedding.  Not once did she lose her temper; the wedding dress, the cake, the caterer, the venue.  She even helped Bryan pick out the ring.

“Uh yeah…about that…I’m not going to the wedding.  I’m leaving New York actually.  I’m going to head to Miami.  Help Her set up a new team there.”  Helping Root plan her wedding is one thing; watching her marry someone else is quite another.

Root just stares for a minute, a blank look on her face.  Not _being_ with Shaw is one thing.  Shaw out of her life altogether is quite another. 

“Marry me.”

Shaw’s sort of surprised.  She knows how Root feels about her, but you’d think they’d have had this conversation sometime before the day before her wedding _to someone else_.

“No,” she whispers.  She clears her throat.  “Bryan’s a good man.  He can give you everything I can’t.”

“But he can’t give me the one thing you _can_ …you.  Marry me.”

“No, Root.”  Now there’s a little heat in Shaw’s tone.  “You’ve been fucking the guy for six months.  Didn’t seem to bother you it wasn’t me then.”

“He knows I’m in love with you.  He knew from day one.”

“Doesn’t change anything between us, although now I think he’s an even better man.”

“Marry me.”

“Quit saying that…”  But Shaw doesn’t walk out.  “Why wait until now Root?  Because you think you’ll never see me again?  Because that’s not what I meant; I’m not dying.”  Although she’s been having this weird pressure in her chest for months and it occurs to her this second maybe that’s what dying inside feels like.  She also knows she won’t see Root ever again if she can help it.  Root knows it too.  But it feels too manipulative to say it.  Shaw’s not trying to make Root choose or change her mind; she’s just protecting herself from feelings she can’t process, especially without Root to guide her.

“Why wait until now for what exactly?  I’ve made it clear how I feel for years.  So what does that even mean?  You’re the one who decided we couldn’t keep fucking.”  Shaw freezes; that stung.  Even in her most callous moment she never thought what her and Root shared was just fucking.  But she’d told Root that’s all it was…countless times.

“Yet you hooked up with this guy and are _marrying_ him.  It must mean something, and not just that we’re not fucking.”

“If I can’t have you, then I want kids; or at least the possibility.  Like you said, Bryan’s a good man.  He keeps me centered.  Even if I wanted to keep working the numbers, at some point I won’t be able to go out into the field anymore.  I’m not sitting around like Finch did, in some dark space for the rest of my life.”

Shaw sighs and it sounds like she’s taking her last breath.  “You deserve a good life Root.  After everything you’ve done and given, you deserve a family and happiness.”

“You’re my happiness; marry me.”

“No.”  But she still doesn’t walk away and that tells Root more than Shaw’s refusal.

“You say I’m your happiness, but you’ve seemed fine the last few months; planning a wedding to marry someone else.  A guy no less.  You want to talk about how things happen?  How does that happen?  I’d never known you to even fuck a man.  Now you’re marrying one.”

“Well, first off I’ve spent every waking moment with you the last few months.  Even if I marry someone else, you think that stops my heart from beating for you?  You think that means I’d ever stop trying to convince you we belong together? 

But I’ve been treading water for the last year and you don’t even see me anymore.  Not literally obviously. 

You’re the only woman I want.  It’s exactly why I _would_ marry Bryan.  It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.  Trust me.  I see you.  You haven’t seen _me_ hook with anyone else.  You want to know why Root?  Because I see you; you’re all I _can_ see.”  Shaw almost bites the words out.

“I’m right here Sameen.  Marry me.”

Shaw scowls and pushes her chair back, standing abruptly.  “You’re full of it.  You’ve been with Bryan all this time and me, the one who supposedly can’t _feel_ …I’ve been waiting for the day there’s not a spike in my heart every time I hear your voice.  Or see your face; looking at me like I’m everything.  But I’m not.  You’ve proven I’m not.  It’s better this way.”

“Not for me…and not for you either.  This isn’t some soap opera where the lovers are kept apart by circumstances they could change if they just wanted it bad enough and the audience keeps rooting for them wondering why they can’t just see it.”

Shaw scoffs, interrupting.  “No this is real life where there are no happy endings for people like me.”

“Marry me.”

“No.  You made your choice.  It’s the right choice for you.”

“Sameen.  Look at me.”  Root waits.  Shaw’s stubborn and they linger in silence for Root’s not sure how long before Shaw looks at her.

“I’m in love with _you_. I want to spend the rest of my life with _you_.”

“You have got to be kidding me!”  Shaw practically shouts incredulously.

“Sameen…”

“Stop.  Stop saying my name like…”

“Like I’m in love with you?”

Shaw shakes her head, now just looking defeated.

“Sameen.  Have you seen me touch Bryan, even casually?”

“What are you saying Root?  That you’ve been trying to spare my feelings?  I don’t have any, remember?”

“I’m saying I’ve never even kissed Bryan, much less slept with him.”

“You expect me to believe that?  The guy asked you to marry him for a reason.”

“Yes.  Because he thinks he’s in love with me.  I think he just wants me because so far he can’t have me.  I’ve been completely honest with him.”

“Then why agree to marry him Root?”

“Honestly.  I have no fucking clue; not really.  Maybe because I always dreamed of a big wedding.  Maybe just because he asked; even knowing how I feel about you.  Maybe I was hoping it would make you _see_ me again.”

“That’s really cold and manipulative Root. Not to mention calculating.”

“True; but worth it if it works, although that wasn’t my conscious intent.  Marry me.”

“No…”

“Then at least tell me we can be together.  That’s all I want.  That’s all I’ve ever wanted.  You.”

Root’s been sitting calmly through the entire conversation even though Shaw’s been pacing for awhile.  But now she stands up and grips her arm, tugging until Shaw turns.  She grips Shaw’s shirt, pulling her in even closer, bringing their mouths together slowly.  She keeps her eyes locked on Shaw’s and just breathes softly on her lips.  “Sameen Shaw.  Please.  Be brave.  Marry me.”

Shaw closes her eyes, her forehead resting on Root’s.  “I’m not going to be the one telling Bryan.”


End file.
